Not Socially ConnectEd
- Charles Shewell
- Jun 1, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 8, 2022
Using Social Media in an Educational Manner
Perception of Social Media Within the Classroom
Like me, you may have been trying to teach a lesson, give directions, or allowing students to have some extra time to finish up their assignments, and are interrupted by students on their phones. Whether they are texting a parent or sibling, Facetiming a peer in another class, or scrolling through the latest posts on their feed, they are distracted and mentally absent from class. The student's focus is captured by one platform or another that is easily accessible with the finger tap on a mobile app. We all know the dangers of social media and how it can consume not only your focus, but your time. I know I have opened up my phone before and before I know it, I have been scrolling through Instagram for an hour and left thinking, "Where has the time gone!".
Allowing social media in the classroom can be a frightening thought. My first thought was something along the lines of, "Those kids won't get any work done". I don't want o speak for all teachers, but I believe it would be safe to assume that a good amount of educators would think that if students were allowed to be on social media during class time, then no learning would get done. Time would be spent fraternizing with their peers, scrolling through feeds, or posting on TikTok.
Using Social Media for Education
Finding a students passion is quite possibly the best place to start. At the beginning of every year, teachers are busy getting to know their new students. Building relationships within the classroom is a major factor in finding out what their passions are. I try to assign work that allows me to get to know my students a little better, so that I can use that information to find commonalities between us in order to connect with them better. For instance, I have a student at this time that wants to be a screenwriter, so I pulled a few YouTube videos I have saved that are interviews with screenwriters and directors, along with their Twitter handles so that this student could follow them on Twitter to gain inspiration. Making connections with the students in your classroom will make all of the difference and quite possibly the most important part.
Using myself as an example is something I have made a practice as well. I put myself through the rigor I put my students through. When setting up any social media account, create one for yourself. Talk the students through each step and use yourself to guide the learning experience. Students will follow your lead. They need and want the guidance even when they won't admit it.
After students have set up their account, find examples of educational or professional pages that the students can connect with. If a student enjoys photography, maybe you have them follow some photographers or photo editing companies such as Adobe. Maybe a student enjoys history or english. Have them follow an author. Video game creation is an interest on the rise, so maybe have students create an account on Twitch and and follow companies such as Ubisoft. In class, have assignments geared towards content they can use.
What is the End Goal?
I believe the solution for turning social media platforms in to something educational is simple. When people start using these platforms to generate educational information eventually there will be an overflow of educational content that users can find popping up in their feeds. If you can combine that with the knowledge of how to properly search for educational information and following users that share their knowledge within the fields you are interested in learning, then a student, or learner in general, will essentially be using social media for learning, as well as connecting with others with the same intellectual interests. This could lead to building a positive social network that could bring an educational social network and build online relationships, creating a continuous learning through each post. Nate Green(2019) stated, "...they would learn it from their network of professionals as they engage in authentic learning. Even is there are others with the same interest in educational content with different viewpoints, through educational information a student could begin actively processing to construct their own thoughts. This creates a well functioning digital citizen with media literacy within the confines of education, leaving the user with tools that will enable them to grow within a learning environment as they use social media.
Preparing Parents and Teachers
I know it is easier said then done, but have patience. Like everything else you learn, it will take some time. We must have patience while guiding anyone to learn a new skill or make a habitual change. As an educator in a multiple technological courses, I believe the best practice is to make ourselves an example through living it out, as well as continually providing real life examples that relate to their passions. In one of the courses I teach, Graphics & Illustrations, I have my students create a website where they can post their work. Throughout the year I provide them with multiple handles to follow on Instagram and Twitter that provide educational tutorial videos and examples to help my students. I share channels on YouTube with my students in order to provide instructional videos on how to complete certain effects for animations and special effects for my video editing courses. Parents and teachers that allow social media use within their courses must practice guiding students with following educational content that will play a role in their passions. After modeling this, the parent or teacher has to give opportunities for the students to actively practice, and then trust that the student will produce. If not, like in every other assignment, we can reteach. "The lessons learned in these professional spaces will bleed into a student's social space and become second nature", Nate Green(2019).
NOTES
I have provided information below that motivated me for this post. I hope you enjoy!
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